Lost Horizons

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“Something’s wrong when you regret things that haven’t happened yet” –The Submarines

The next morning Sienna woke feeling disoriented and a bit dizzy.  Her head was pounding and a headache was making itself known loud and clear.  It took her a few minutes to register where she was as she gazed at the green walls.  The clock indicated it was half past seven and the sun was shining annoyingly bright outside.  Remembering it was the first day of classes, Sienna pushed the covers away and got out of bed as fast as she could. 

Her head spun for a second and she waited for the dizziness to dissipate.  Learning her lesson, she took her time getting to the tiny bathroom that consisted of a white toilet and a matching sink with a mirror placed over it.  When she glanced in the mirror she saw that her hair was still braided and her grey eyes looked bloodshot.  On the bright side, at least she didn’t have shadows under them.

She grabbed her facial soap dispenser and went to turn on the faucet when she caught sight of her arm.  The bottle clattered into the sink as she glared in shock and horror, not at the little scratches, but at a word that was boldly written in a black marker across her left arm: Crazy.

That single word held so much meaning for Sienna that she couldn’t make herself look away from it.  She must have stood staring at it for quite a while because when her initial shock wore off and she emerged from the bathroom the clock read 7:55.  She quickly put on the boring uniform and ran a hand through her tangled hair.  She had tried to wash off the word with soap and water but the attempt had been a failure.  It had faded a little bit but it was still very obvious.  ‘Who wrote that on my arm and why?’ she wondered. 

The questions were swarming around her head incessantly.  However, she didn’t have much time to dwell on the matter, seeing as her first class started at 8:00.  Sienna still hadn’t unpacked all of her things, including jackets, so she grabbed the grey hoodie that Parry had lent her the day before and pulled it over her head.  There, that would cover up her arm.  Until she figured out the mystery behind the word, she didn’t want any prying eyes staring at it and asking questions she couldn’t answer.

She didn’t have time to grab any breakfast since she was already going to be late, but then a more rebellious voice in her head said, “You’re already late, what’s the difference?”  And she listened to it.

“SOHCAHTOA.”  Sienna heard the booming voice of the teacher through the door. Eating breakfast had resulted in being twenty-five minutes late to her first class, math with Mr. Echo.  She felt a bit nervous as she turned the knob and entered the chilly classroom.  The balding teacher fell quiet and every pair of eyes turned to stare at Sienna.  She tried her best to ignore it and walked over to the teacher to explain her situation.

“I’m sorry I’m late…” Sienna started, but the teacher cut her off mid-sentence.

“I don’t have time for your excuses.  I’ll let it slide because it’s the first day, but make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he told her menacingly, and then added in a louder tone, “Now please introduce yourself to the class, miss”.